SLIDER

Legend of the Dogman


In Northern Michigan's Lower Peninsula, perhaps the most well known legend is The Legend of the Dogman. 
The legend gained massive popularity in 1987 when some dude named Steve Cook wrote a song about the so-called Dogman sightings for an April Fool's prank, leading more and more people to call in to the radio station and report their own sightings. 
Except that further digging showed his prank actually had a bit of historical context, whether he knew about it or not.
People took super delight and the legend grew as things do when you write songs about them.

The legend is this: there is a creature out there that walks around on two legs and stands tall like a man but looks like a ferocious dog. Hence the name, "Dogman." He is said to come around in a ten year cycle, but can be seen outside of those ten years. Just, on that ten year cycle is when he is supposedly most active.



The Steve Cook Song: 



Some "sightings" have more merit than others. For a while, The Gable Film (it isn't interesting until the 2:25 mark) was considered by some to be proof of the beast's existence. Until it was demonstrated to apparently be a hoax

Evidently there is an entire episode of Monster Quest dedicated to this legend. I didn't know about the episode's existence until watching the video that analyzes and discredits The Gable Film (which I knew existed but never watched before). I didn't watch the Monster Quest episode straight through, I kind of bounced through it, and most of what I saw focuses on Wisconsin and their version of the creature.

As with any legend, reports vary and some are much more...er...believable, for lack of a better word.
Native Americans have stories about a Wendigo that roamed Northern Michigan. It is well documented that some early French explorers saw something in their travels they that referred to as the loup garou. However, I have not myself encountered any video or images that has me turned into Fox Mulder on this. One of the most popular images that is allegedly the Dogman, to me, is obviously a mountain lion. 
(Side note: the Michigan DNR for a l-o-n-g time has been emphatic about "there are no cougars in Michigan!" [think, "I did not have sex with that woman...] however, multiple people have reported seeing mountain lions over the years. The DNR, on their website, explains that yes, cougars used to be indigenous to Michigan, but right around the early 1900's were all hunted down and destroyed. (A win for animals and the environment. Sigh.) 
At any rate, this happened in June of this year, proving that yes, there are at least some mountain lions in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. 

Why am I sharing this story this year? 
Because the one cool thing is that the ten year cycle of the Dogman is said to end on every year ending in 7. As in '17, '37, '67, '87, '97, '07, and of course...2017. 
So if the Dogman is real and is on a ten year cycle of...feeding?...this would be the year he would be out and active. 

Happy Hunting!

Any creepy legends in your area? (Steff, I know you must have some!) 

6 comments

  1. I'm thinking I might have heard something of this on the podcast Lore? It sounds vaguely familiar!

    San Jose just has the stupid Winchester Mystery House as far as I know. Oh wait, there is the supposed haunted Toy's R Us in Sunnyvale.

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    1. I love how you're like "stupid Winchester House" when so many people are super fascinated by it (I know I am). Have you been there?

      Also, haunted Toy's R Us? And I totally read that as "Sunnydale" and I was like "duh, it's the Hellmouth." Damn, it's good to be a dingus.

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    2. Also, what is this podcast Lore you speak of? I am curious.

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  2. This is so cool, like something out of Supernatual! Get your silver bullets ready! It's weird, besides the Loch Ness Monster there isn't too much legend stuff - lots of haunted type places in Edinburgh in the underground vaults and things which are pretty creepy though! I think maybe because there is isn't much woods here? Saying that there is a legend of sorts that there are panther like black cats up where my husband is from - mostly perpetrated by my father in law, no doubt (eye roll!). :-)

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    1. I am so super curious about haunted and creepy places - houses, castles, underground crypts and vaults and all the things. In my mind I have this association with Scotland and Hound of the Baskerville, even though that takes place in England.

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    2. Yes the English moors are legit creepy! I don't know if any Sherlock Holmes stories were set in Scotland...:-)

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